1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a toy for small animals (hamsters, gerbils, mice or other small animals), and more particularly to an animal-operated and automatically resetting elevator combined with a unique and intricate melding of a staircase with a maze, housed in a transparent containment structure and possessing one-way passage means.
Specifically, the staircase portion of the toy comprises a plurality of vertical walls radiating from a central vertical axis, an alternating or rotational sequence of horizontal plates disposed between the walls, the sequence being offset or misaligned vertically in an incremental and progressive manner, with increments generally being less than the height of a small animal and less than the distance between two vertically aligned horizontal plates, progressive being successively higher, and a plurality of apertures or restricted passageways, with optional cover flaps or one-way passage means, disposed in the vertical walls in corresponding relationship to the horizontal plates.
Ideally, a transparent containment structure houses the assembly and possesses a removable end for convenient access. Also, the toy is accessed at selected levels through the containment structure for cooperative use with the elevator herein disclosed. The staircase would also work with a multi-level cage or other toy requiring upper level access or even in combination with an enlarged chamber.
Thus, a small animal can be positively routed from a first horizontal plate to a designated last horizontal plate in a smooth-flowing staircase-like manner and without the tendency to fall back through horizontal apertures common in multi-level mazes, and can alternately negotiate horizontal plates and vertical apertures which provide both maze-like complexity and secure, segmented living space, so that a sleeping animal would not tumble downward, in a compact hybrid structure which accommodates bedding nicely. Moreover, every compartment or enclosed space above a horizontal plate and between two vertical walls is directly viewable form the exterior and floor space maximized due to the incremental offsets and the vertical apertures.
The staircase portion serves as a novel and entertaining means to guide a small animal to the elevator, which is animal-operated and reset or automatically reset, with cushioning means and animal-operated or weight-sensitive retaining means. The elevator is further embodied in a pair of counterbalanced elevator cars connected by cable over guide pulleys, their operation being free of any shearing action during animal exit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The observation of small animal behavior inevitably leads to the conclusion that there is considerable potential for entertainment, limited only by the pet toys available, for these animals are game for almost anything they can learn or "fall into." Patience is essential with complex toys, but the payoff is bigger.
The conception of the elevator was a desire to provide the small animal with a toy that does something to him when he isn't doing anything to it--an unexpected but stimulating, enjoyable, and ultimately controllable movement. Not just exercise, but entertainment--like having a car instead of a bicycle.
As is well known, counterbalanced dumbwaiters have been used to move cargo from one floor of a structure to another, both as hand-operated and motorized units. Elevators have also been used for toys. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,488, Orenstein's elevator is operated by a toy "animal" moving a lever and releasing the elevator car; however, the elevator must be reset manually.
Several other patented toy elevators operate on means other than passenger control and gravity, employing instead battery power, clockwork spring movement, and manual or cranking means. These include U.S. Pat. No. 4,359,837 to Hool, U.S. Pat. No. 3,849,930 to Stubbmann, U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,410 to Saito, U.S. Pat. No. 3,789,538 to Spengler, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,454 to Einfalt. None of the above could be operated solely by an animal and automatically reset.
Counterbalanced elevators and dumbwaiters are well known, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 1,231,075 to Seeberger. However, the counterbalance itself is usually a compact weight and not a second compartment.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,908,498, Becraft employs a counterbalanced double-seated device as a child's playroom ride, but the operation of the ride is largely non-analogous to the present invention. The playroom ride is intended for use by two passengers rather than one, both simultaneously and continuously. Normally, the elevator is used by one small animal which enters, is transported, and then exits. In the playroom rid, not only does gravity act on the passengers' weight, but each passenger must exert leg pressure to complete a cycle. One animal operates the elevator, with gravity alone acting on its weight, and this same force resets the elevator. In addition, the playroom ride is probably entered and exited simultaneously with each seat in mid-position, so an automatic half-cycle reset whereby an empty elevator car is located in the "up" or ready position is a different problem. Finally, the shearing action upon leaving the child's rid is managed by the passengers without shear control means, rather than being inherently solved by the automatic resetting of the invention.
It is submitted than the application of an elevator for use in a toy for small animals promises to be more entertaining to a young or not-so-young person than something which must be manipulated by hand because of the displacement of control onto the animal and the unpredictable behavior of the animal.
Moreover, the toy is designed to operate safely, and the mechanical parts involved, i.e. ball chain, springs, magnets, and pulleys are minimal in number and all standard parts, which serves to keep the cost down.
There was also a need to get the animal to the top of the elevator, and hopefully offer additional novelty, rather than just leaving the task to a tube, ladder, or other compatible device, although this is a viable alternative. A accomplishes the task, and doubles as additional living space, or multi-level apartment.
Staircases are ubiquitous; and, there are many variations in dimensions, construction, and modes of ascent. The staircase disclosed is particularly adapted for use in a small animal toy because the steps are large enough to rest on for extended periods of time, the structure includes apertures or restricted passageways to form segmented enclosures which add maze-like complexity which would only be used by animals, the structure is preferably transparent, and lastly, the structure is designed for disassembly and cleaning.
Many toys already exist for small animals, including tubes, ladders, slides, wheels, and ordinary miniature steps. The present invention offers a more novel exercise means and can be used inside or outside of a cage either separately or in combination with other structures including slides, tubes, ladders, or especially a small pet elevator.
A switchback or spiral staircase-like arrangement of partially or totally enclosed living compartments or stations with connecting apertures is versatile in application, while being transparent for maximum viewing and disassembled in a variety of ways for easy cleaning. Food, treats, and bedding may be added, and the small animal may choose to rest in such a structure for extended periods of time. Mazes are defined to be puzzling, confusing, intricate networks of pathways, providing many choices, and implying randomness. A maze use ten times would probably result in ten different routes being taken. The arbitrary limitation or selection of apertures might result in particular patterns of routes, but the supporting structure would not automatically possess the subtle and precise arrangement of surfaces with sequential and incremental offsets producing a complex yet smooth-flowing design, or the vertical apertures for accommodating both vertical and horizontal displacement, disclosed in the present application.
Three-dimensional mazes, e.g. Huang, U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,098, Hoover, U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,502, Hall, U.S. Pat. No. 2,261,804, and Collier, U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,023, quite often tend to have base structures, tops, or monolithic levels which completely separate compartments on different horizontal planes, and perfect alignment of cubicles or compartments on a level and between levels, forming rows and columns of equal-sized spaces. These types of mazes are easy to conceptualize and construct. Huang is perfectly regular in structure, including apertures, the irregularity existing in the random and arbitrary blockage of apertures with dumbbells. In Hall, Hoover, and Collier, interior surfaces are aligned on three axes, with less regular apertures.
Some maze structures preserve monolithic horizontal levels of compartments but with less regularity of compartmentalization on each level. A good example is Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,651, in which there are multiple horizontal segregations, and randomness on each level. Meyer, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,516,589 retains discrete levels, even though introducing angled alleys and ramps, with unequal size compartments. So, too, do Jones in U.S. Pat. No. 3,260,236 and Miler in U.S. Pat. No. 3,857,364 define space randomly on a level, but preserve the monolithic base.
Alternately, Tominaga, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,938, discloses a kind of wrap-around structure with a plurality of connected vertical plates, however, his horizontal plate members are not disposed between the plates with corresponding vertical apertures, thereby losing some complexity and secure compartmentalization. Although the viewability provided by Tominaga is excellent, his structure would not naturally lend itself to accommodating bedding or for positive routing in combination with another toy, such as the elevator.
Treer, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,047 discloses a housing with left and right symmetry, regularity and segregation on both vertical planes and horizontal planes, yet random compartmental layout within.
Finally, some maze-type structures are totally random, with no apparent repetition of structure at all, e.g., Salvato, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 265,139.
What is not found in prior art is the superposition of a staircase onto a maze, with subtle and intricate structural adjustments and selection of surfaces with particular, advantageous, corresponding placement of vertical apertures. No simple arbitrary choice of apertures using all statistical possibilities in any prior art maze, no rotation of a maze in space, and no mere choice of spiral or zigzag patterns applied to a typical maze structure would derive the present unique and unobvious melding of a staircase and a maze.
Cover flaps on some of the apertures of the toy add yet another form of amusement and challenge. They may also serve to guide the animal through an aperture in the preferred direction. Doors which allow larger pets to enter and leave an owner's home are well known.
Common gerbil/hamster tubes can become expensive quickly, take up considerable space, be difficult to clean, and may accidentally disconnect. The present invention provides the small animal with more compact complexity and the human observer more cost-effective entertainment in a novel and convenient assembly.
The inventor holds a firm belief that some cages are too small for even one animal, and that any toy learned in 30 seconds isn't enough of a challenge to the animal. It is hoped that the availability of a quality toy will result in the purchase of a larger cage, or even in the decision to purchase a pet in the first place.